KABILA, OTHER LEADERS AGREE ON POLITICAL AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000882

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2010
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM CG RW
SUBJECT: KABILA, OTHER LEADERS AGREE ON POLITICAL AND
DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY TO REDUCE TENSIONS IN EAST

REF: A. KINSHASA 855


B. KINSHASA 846

Classified By: PolCouns DBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary. President Kabila, Prime Minister Gizenga
and the presidents of the National Assembly, Senate and
Supreme Court met July 23 in an initial inter-institutional
meeting. They agreed to Kamerhe's proposal for political and
diplomatic strategies to reduce tensions in the east and
re-establish diplomatic relations with Rwanda. They also
reportedly discussed the possible return of MLC leader
Jean-Pierre Bemba and differences over the accreditation of
National Assembly deputies. End summary.


2. (C) President Joseph Kabila, Prime Minister Antoine
Gizenga, National Assembly President Vital Kamerhe, Senate
President Kengo wa Dondo and Supreme Court President Benoit
Luamba reviewed key political questions July 23 at the first
meeting of the leaders of the post-transition institutions.
They issued no official statement following it, but we
understand that at least three issues were discussed:
continued insecurity in the two Kivu provinces, the possible
return of MLC leader Senator Jean-Pierre Bemba from Portugal,
and relations between the Parliament and Supreme Court.
Kamerhe told the Ambassador July 23 that the so-called
inter-institutional meeting had lasted 3-4 hours and
characterized it as "very, very good."


3. (C) Kamerhe told the Ambassador that the other leaders at
the meeting had agreed to his proposal for a political and
diplomatic strategy to reduce tensions in North and South
Kivu. He said it would include a conference bringing
together the various ethnic communities; the now-discredited
term "roundtable" has been discarded. This inter-community
dialogue would be organized by non-governmental bodies,
including churches, with the support of government
authorities, and be held locally. "That's where the problem
is," Kamerhe said, not in a distant center such as Kisangani
or Kinshasa. Target date is September or October. He said
the issue would be presented to a meeting of provincial
governors and assembly presidents scheduled for Kinshasa next
week.


4. (C) Kamerhe reported that the DRC leaders had also
adopted a four-step diplomatic strategy to re-establish
diplomatic relations with Rwanda. First step would be a
meeting between foreign ministers; second, formalizing
contact between provincial leaders and institutions on the
Congolese-Rwandan border; third, establishing consulates in
the respective cities on the border (Gisenyi, Goma, Cyangugu,
Bukavu); and fourth, exchange of ambassadors. Kamerhe
appealed for support from the diplomatic community for this
initiative. He said Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles
Murigande was in basic agreement with this general approach,
and had accepted the invitation of Congolese Minister of
State for External Relations for a meeting at a
yet-to-be-determined date. Kamerhe also said that that
provincial-level contacts had already begun, and that Kabila
planned to visit the eastern DRC in August or September.


5. (C) Kengo had told the Ambassador several hours prior to
the inter-institutional meeting that the issue of Bemba would
be discussed. Kengo provided no details, but noted that
Bemba has written Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign
ministers, the Secretary and the Canadian foreign minister
stating his eagerness to return, willingness to support
democratic institutions and readiness to accept new security
arrangements. Kengo stated that, in his opinion, it would be
better to have Bemba in the country, where he could be more
easily controlled than outside. He also expressed opposition
to a trial of Bemba for treason, saying it could have a
destabilizing effect in Kinshasa, where Bemba still enjoys
wide support. Kengo also indicated that there is no active
move in the Senate to lift Bemba's parliamentary immunity to
prosecution.


6. (C) A report in the July 24 edition of the Kinshasa daily
Le Palmares indicated that differences between the Assembly
and Court over the accreditation of a number of deputies was
on the agenda. The article highlighted an acrimonious debate
during the Assembly's final week in which many deputies
denounced corruption in the Court's invalidation of the
elections of 18 deputies and their replacement by rivals. In
the end, the Assembly adopted Kamerhe's proposal to accept
the Court's order as constitutional, and employ an

KINSHASA 00000882 002 OF 002


inter-institutional meeting to initiate a process leading to
sanction of any corrupted magistrates.


7. (C) Comment: Given the stated preferences of these
principals, it is predictable that an inter-institutional
neeting would be pushing political moves, not military. The
agreement on a political and diplomatic strategy aimed at
resolving long-festering issues remaining from Congo's civil
war is a welcome development. Lack of any public
announcement regarding it only emphasizes the continuing
sensitive nature of the issues that have hindered resolution
for years. End comment.
MEECE